Ask a Travel Nurse: How do I transition from LPN to Travel RN?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I’m an LPN transitioning to RN, and Travel Nursing has always been a dream of mine. My question is: How do I transition from LPN to Travel RN? Should I take on an ER RN position for experience before attempting to try Travel Nursing?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

The easy answer is you will HAVE to take a position for at least a year before attempting to travel.

Even though you are transitioning from being an LPN, that, and being an RN, are two different worlds and are looked upon as such by the people who will be hiring you, the hospitals.

Plus, you need to gain experience in the specialty in which you wish to travel. ER would certainly be a good choice as you will likely find an ER in every facility in which you wish to work.

I also wanted to let you know that while a year of experience used to be the norm for taking a travel assignment, these days, 18 months to two years is what most facilities are currently requiring (which may change by the time you wish to travel).

For now, get in the hospital, at the bedside, in the specialty in which you would like to travel. Become proficient in your skills like IV starts, and NG and Foley insertions. If you do choose ER, even though it is not required by all EDs, I would at least get your ACLS card and possibly your PALS card. If you wish to work in trauma centers, maybe your TNCC. Anything that will show that you have a bit more education.

I hope this helps.

David

david@travelnursesbible.com

Since 1990, America’s Health Rankings have provided a state-by-state assessment of health in the United States. Recently the annual report for 2014 was released, allowing you to check out health reports by state regarding issues such as smoking, obesity, premature death, immunization, diabetes, and even aspects like poverty and graduation rates. Each state’s info can be broken down further by gender, age, education, income, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity. In addition to the general report, there is a specifically crafted senior report.

As a traveling healthcare professional, you may be headed to serve a population you would like to learn more about. This type of report featuring state health rankings can be very enlightening to Travel Nurses and Allied Health Professionals.

In the overall state health rankings the top 10 were:

1. Hawaii

2. Vermont

3. Massachusetts

4. Connecticut

5. Utah

6. Minnesota

7. New Hampshire

8. Colorado

9. North Dakota

10. Nebraska

And the bottom 10 were:

50. Mississippi

49. Arkansas

48. Louisiana

47. Kentucky

46. Oklahoma

45. Tennessee

44. West Virginia

43. Alabama

42. South Carolina

41. Indiana

The state health rankings provided through America’s Health Rankings are made possible through a partnership between the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and the Partnership for Prevention.

According to their website, America’s Health Rankings is the “longest running annual assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis.” They also say that the purpose of these state health rankings is to “stimulate action by individuals, elected officials, health care professionals, public health professionals, employers, educators, and communities to improve the health of the US population.”

The hope is that the report will encourage an important conversation about health in each state, which will ultimately lead to a group effort that improves health nationwide. Many states actually incorporate the findings when reviewing their own goals, programs, and strategies.

Click here to check out the state health rankings in full.

As a Traveler, what have you learned by serving patients in multiple states? Share you experiences in the comments.

Ask a Travel Nurse: What’s the best Travel Nursing company?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

I’m new to the idea of Travel Nursing and want to give it a try. But, there are so many companies — it blows my mind! What’s the best Travel Nursing company? Can you recommend a few good Travel Nursing companies for me to research and/or a recruiter, to get me started in the right direction?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

I don’t endorse or recommend ”companies” per se, but rather, great people within those companies. I believe that having a great recruiter is a key element of having a good travel experience. I believe in this so much so, that one of the companies with which I travel, I would actually caution against, unless someone was working with the recruiter there with whom I have completed many an assignment and trust to take care of the issues that can arise, while on assignment.

If you call a company “cold” and ask to speak to someone, they will just pair you with the next available recruiter. It’s kind of “luck-of-the-draw” when you do that and you can work with the best travel company in the world, but if they pair you with a recruiter who only has a month on the job, how good an experience do you think you might have?

If you like, I can help get you paired up with the people I use and trust with my travels, but would need a bit more info from you. Can you tell me how many years nursing experience you have and how much of that experience is in the specialty in which you intend to travel?

After that, what works best for both my recruiters and I is to have you send me your best contact info (best email, if not this one, and best phone number where they might reach you).  I’ll forward your info to my recruiters and then email you the name of the person who will be contacting you, the company for which they work, and a little bio on the company. These people are the ONLY people who will receive any of your information.

I would also need to know any companies where you have spoken with a recruiter or even just contacted them and given them your information. The reason for this is because of the way that I refer nurses to my recruiters and not wanting to submit your name to a company at which you are already working with, or have been assigned a recruiter. I have had one or two instances where my recruiter didn’t first find the nurse I submitted in their system and started working with them only to discover that they were essentially “poaching” a nurse from another recruiter. Obviously, not a great position in which to put my recruiters. Please understand, I am not admonishing you for other nurses’ non-disclosure. It’s just that it’s problematic for my recruiters when people have not disclosed the companies with which they have already spoken.

Presently, there are five companies where I have established great contacts for my own travels. These people have also helped me get quite a few new travelers started in their careers. Most are medium sized companies (that give better customer service, but may not have all of the assignments that the “giants” do). However, I also have a really great recruiter at one of…if not, THE, largest travel company out there. This is one instance in which having a great recruiter is KEY.

I ALWAYS advise travelers to be on file with at least a handful of companies (after a decade and a half, I am still on file with six or seven). So many of the nurses join all the companies I refer them to, but usually find a favorite and do most of their traveling with that company. I am no different, but when I want to get to a location and my preferred company does not have any assignments in the area, I can always call two or three others and find what I want.

It’s also important for new travelers to be on file with multiple companies because some hospitals will even specify, “no first-time travelers”. So obviously, the more companies you are on file with, the more assignment opportunities you will have (not all companies have the same assignment selection).

Don’t be afraid to have several companies looking for you at once, but be courteous to your recruiters and let them know if you do take an assignment with anyone else (so they do not continue to spend their time seeking an assignment for you).

I’ll also pass on some sites that are good resources for travel nurses. Some good travel nurse forums can be found at ultimatenurse.com, allnurses.com, and the Delphi forum for traveling professionals (go to delphiforums.com, look for the box on the right that says “Explore existing forums”, type in “travel nursing” and the top result is a group called Travel Nurses and Therapists).

Pan Travelers is also another good site with a forum. They have a free section and also a portion where there is a charge to access information.

Healthcare Traveler Magazine has moved entirely online, but can be found at http://healthcaretraveler.modernmedicine.com/ where you can read current or back issues (I’ve written articles for them as well as a monthly column that you can find in past issues). You can also join Healthcare Travelbook (healthcaretravelbook.com), which is a sort of Facebook style place for travelers, which also has a forum.

While most travelers start with the companies that I use, if in your travels, you ever hear of another company that interests you, always check them out on the forums and see what other travelers may have to say about them. The amount of time they have been in business can be a consideration (not all “young” companies are bad, just as not all companies that have been in the business awhile will be good). Longevity just says that they have been doing this awhile and should have most of their ducks in a row (and it also means you should be able to find out more about them on the forums).

Also look and see if they have a Better Business Bureau rating. Not all companies are accredited by the BBB (most might not be) but even if a company is not accredited by the BBB, they may have a rating and you can see if anyone has ever filed a complaint against them.

Finally, I recommend simply typing the company name into a search browser with the word “complaint” or “review”. This sometimes yields some pretty interesting results.

So, if you send me your contact info (best email and phone number) and all the companies with which you have had contact, I’ll be happy to pass along your info and help get you started with some great people in the travel industry

Hope this helps.

David
david@travelnursesbible.com

These Travel Nurse company rankings for 2015 can help you find the best agency and recruiter for your career!

Like a Top Ten roll call from the “Late Show with David Letterman” — but with much more value to those seeking an excellent company to travel with — the Travel Nurse resource site Highway Hypodermics has released its Travel Nurse company rankings for 2015.

The annual list of Travel Nurse company rankings for 2015 features a Top 10 and 10 more Honorable Mentions, based upon Traveler evaluations.

In order to be considered, each company must have a profile on the site that is no more than three years old, as well as at least 10 evaluations by Travelers (increased from a minimum of five evaluations required to be considered for last year’s list).

A press release from Highway Hypodermics called this year’s competition very tight, making all of the Top 10 and Honorable Mentions good bets, depending upon each Traveler’s specific needs. This list is a good jumping off point for Travelers and prospective Travelers to do their own personally relevant research in order to find the company and recruiter that best complements his or her career goals and benefits needs. From this list you can:

• Read the bio for each Top 10-ranked company to learn more about their history, reputation, and benefits.
• Follow the link provided for each of the Top 20-ranked Travel Nurse agencies — comprised of all Top 10 and Honorable Mention companies. Explore each of their websites to get a feel for the agency’s culture, benefits, and other offerings.
• Review the scores — from the benefits score to the general eval score, to the composite of the two. You can also see how many total evaluations were submitted for each company in the Top 20.
• Use the information you’ve gathered to get on the phone, speak to a few recruiters at these companies, and start narrowing down who you want to help you build your Travel Nursing career.

Click here to see Highway Hypodermics’ full list of Travel Nurse company rankings for 2015. Good luck in your search for a company that cares about you as an individual, wants to help you find great jobs and adventues, and that satisfies all of your benefits needs!

Ask a Travel Nurse: What is needed to prove my perm address?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:

What is needed to prove my perm address? Is receiving a credit card bill there enough to demonstrate that it’s my perm address, or would it have to be a utility bill, or even having my driver’s license and voters registration listed there?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

I guess my first question would be, to whom are you trying to prove a permanent residence?

If we are talking a travel company, then that will likely be up to them and they can ask for whatever makes them comfortable in determining a residence for such things like participation in a tax advantage program.

However, please know that a travel company and the IRS may have VERY different criteria for determining your eligibility to participate in any programs allowing a tax advantage.

Also understand that the IRS does not look solely at a permanent residence to determine your tax status or to determine a “tax home.” A tax home is NOT a residence, but rather, an area in which you normally “do business.” Now while having voting registration, car registration, etc., can go a long way to proving a “tax home,” you are still essentially stating that this is an area in which you normally do business. If you have been on the road for a few years and have not worked a single day within that area during that time, the likelihood of the IRS continuing to see that as a “tax home” is pretty slim.

However, since I’m not a tax specialist, I will refer you to what I believe is mandatory reading concerning tax issues with the travel nurse. It is the FAQ page on Joseph Smith’s website. Joseph was a traveling RT and is an enrolled agent with the IRS. He’s sort of THE go-to guy for tax issues with traveling healthcare professionals. You can see his FAQ page here.

Bottom line, the person you need to ask about proof of permanent residence needs to be whomever is requiring it. If it is a travel company, be sure that you meet their criteria AND the criteria of the IRS. I know of NO recruiter out there that is also an account with vast knowledge in tax law. Protect yourself and if uncertain, the people over at traveltax.com still answer questions free of charge.

Hope this helps.

David

david@travelnursesbible.com

Check out out 17 Top Travel Nursing Blogs Posts From 2014!

Our hope is that Travel Nursing Blogs is able to provide tools and resources for your career in Travel Nursing, help answer your questions, entertain you, and support you in building an awesome career where you can have amazing adventures and do truly important work.

When it comes to what topics to cover here at Travel Nursing Blogs, we love to hear feedback from readers and find out what content is the most beneficial to the Travel Nurses who visit our site. With that in mind, we decided to take a look back at 2014 to see which posts from 2014 were most popular.

Our pages that feature job listings and companies ratings were very popular as always, as were the Ask a Travel Nurse section on Benefits and Pay and the resources offered in our Tools section, such as the Travel Nursing Checklist, Travel Nursing Salary Calculator, FAQs, and others. Beyond those valuable areas of the site, here are the 17 Top Travel Nursing Posts from 2014:

General Travel Nursing Posts

These posts run the gamut, and we’re glad that each of them was helpful to our readers in 2014.

Will there be a “Scrubbing In” Season 2?

MTV’s Scrubbing In, a reality show featuring young Travel Nurses was, for better or for worse, a popular topic in 2013, and that spilled into 2014 when we wondered Will there be a “Scrubbing In” Season 2?

Travel Nurse Company Rankings for 2014 were popular, as many Travelers searched for the right agency fit for their career and personal needs.

Readers loved our Happy Nurses Week 2014 post, which shared all kinds of info about how agencies, companies, restaurants, and other entities were celebrating this year. We hope you all got your free Cinnabon!

Stasha Crawford’s guest post on Travel Nursing Expectations was well-liked, probably because many veteran Travelers could relate and newer Travelers appreciated the heads up.

Our 4 Reasons You’ll Get Hooked on Travel Nursing post shared a few reasons why being a Travel Nurse is actually a totally safe, wonderful thing to be addicted to.

With so many awesome locations, it’s easy to get hooked on Travel Nursing!

Travel Nurses sometimes experience the ugliness of hospital bullying which is probably why our post on How to Stop Travel Nurse Bullying was such a hit.

Ask a Travel Nurse Expert Posts

Travel Nursing Blogs’ Ask a Travel Nurse expert, David Morrison RN, brings a wealth of helpful knowledge to the table for our readers. It’s no wonder his posts continue to be reader favorites every year!

Ask a Travel Nurse: What’s the normal range for Travel Nurse Salary?

Salary is a popular topic as, naturally, Travelers want to be sure they are compensated fairly.

Ask a Travel Nurse: What expenses are tax-deductible when Travel Nursing?

Travel taxes are always a huge, important issue for Travelers!

Ask a Travel Nurse: In travel nursing, how do I know if I’m being paid fairly?

Ask a Travel Nurse: In Travel Nursing, how do I know if I’m being paid fairly?

David gets this question a lot, so we’re glad to have a place where curious Travelers can come for his wisdom.

Ask a Travel Nurse: Do you get rental expenses or do you have to use public transport?

David generally recommends using your own vehicle, but every location is different and each Traveler’s needs differ as well.

Ask a Travel Nurse: How should I handle housing on my first assignment?

Housing is a topic of huge importance for all Travelers, but especially when starting out, David recommends taking agency housing since you’ll have so many other new things to navigate already.

Posts From 2013

These posts are actually from 2013, but readers found them just as valuable this year!

This Inspiring Letter to a Nursing Student was just so fun to share and a reminder of the importance and power of random acts of kindness.

As mentioned above, the Travel Nurse reality show was a very popular topic, so we were not surprised that even after the show aired, people still wanted to Meet MTV’s “Scrubbing In” Cast in this post.

Another repeat issue, Travel Nurse Taxes 101 continues to help Travelers make sense of and prepare for their travel taxes.

David’s answer to the query — Ask a Travel Nurse: Can I do Travel Nursing in an RV? — remained popular among Travelers and road warriors.

These 4 Great Travel Nursing Books can help you build a strong career and have a blast on the road!

Amanda West’s guest post Travel Nursing 101: A Solid Contract continued to help Travelers new and old make sure they get everything they need and want out of their contracts.

Our post listing 4 Great Travel Nursing Books was still valuable, probably because every Traveler can benefit from any one of these great Traveler tomes — or, collect all four!

In addition to the topics covered throughout these 17 top Travel Nursing Blogs posts from 2014, what other information, issues, and questions about life as a Travel Nurse would you like to see us cover in 2015?

Nurse Baymax comforts Hiro in Disney’s Big Hero 6.

Last weekend I saw an NPR headline that caught my attention:

Why Does It Take A Movie Robot To Show What Nurses Really Do?

In the article, author Kelli Dunham (herself a nurse) discusses the prevalence of unsatisfying media representations of nurses. She details nurse representations in popular media that include hyper-sexuality, incompetency, lack of professionalism, and just plain mischaracterizations in shows like “Getting On,” “The Mindy Project,” “House,” and “Red Band Society.” While Dunham concedes that the shows are meant for entertainment, she also emphasizes that the issue of nurse representation in media has real effects.

For example, she quotes The Truth About Nursing which wrote that they believed, “the vast gap between what skilled nurses really do and what the public thinks they do is a fundamental factor underlying most of the more immediate apparent causes of the [nursing] shortage [such as], understaffing, poor work conditions, [and] inadequate resources for nursing research and education.”

So, what does all of this have to do with robots?

If you’ve seen Disney’s 2014 computed animated feature Big Hero 6, you probably have an idea. The movie tells the story of a 14-year-old robotics wunderkind, Hiro, who puts together a team of superheroes to avenge his brother Tadashi, who was also a robotics genius and who died in a horrible accident. One day, Hiro fortuitously turns on one of Tadashi’s projects, a robotic “personal healthcare companion” named Baymax, who cares for Hiro in many ways, illustrating why a nurse is the ultimate “big hero.”

The entire film — but especially the adorable, compassionate, hard-working Baymax — is extremely charming and fun. And while a robot is absolutely no replacement for a real, live nurse, Dunham’s NPR piece applauds how Baymax’s holistic approach to healthcare represents nurses.

Dunham wrote, regarding her impression of Baymax as a media nurse representation, “You know your profession has an image problem when you point to a balloonish animated robot doll and say, ‘Yes, that’s good. That accurately reflects what I do on a daily basis. More representations like that, please.’”

Click here to read The Truth About Nursing’s review of Big Hero 6 and here to read Dunham’s NPR piece.

Have you seen Big Hero 6? What did you think of the film and it’s relation to nursing?

Ask a Travel Nurse: What are the best hospitals nationwide?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:
I’m thinking about becoming a Travel Nurse next year, and I will be taking my husband and two children with me, so I’m looking for a place that treats their Travelers well and might have potential for assignment extensions. Can you tell me: What are the best hospitals nationwide?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:

I don’t really keep an “inventory” of great hospitals and as far as potential for extensions, that is something that can change drastically even on a month to month basis.

If I might suggest a better approach, first decide on a state or area of the country you would like to see. Then narrow your focus to a general area or city and hit the travel forums to open your question to a vast number of travel nurses.

Some good travel nurse forums can be found at ultimatenurse.com, allnurses.com, and the Delphi forum for traveling professionals (go to delphiforums.com, look for the box on the right that says “Explore existing forums”, type in “travel nursing” and the top result is a group called Travel Nurses and Therapists).

Pan Travelers is another good site with a forum and you can also join Healthcare Travelbook (healthcaretravelbook.com), which is a sort of Facebook style place for travelers, which also has a forum.

Once you’ve found a few hospitals that interest you, call several recruiters and ask if that facility is currently posting and how often they typically post positions. Those same recruiters should also be able to tell you if they’ve had any travelers with the company that have had issues with that hospital or terminated contracts.

Sorry I could not be of more direct assistance, but once you’ve narrowed your focus, hopefully this will help you research hospitals in that area and find a great spot for your first assignment

David

david@travelnursesbible.com

Ask a Travel Nurse: How do I get the best housing on my first Travel Nursing assignment?

Ask a Travel Nurse Question:
I am about to become a first-time Traveler. What should I look for in terms of accommodations and how do I get the best housing on my first Travel Nursing assignment?

Ask a Travel Nurse Answer:
In speaking with travel companies, if you are concerned about your accommodations, one of the first questions I would ask my recruiter would be about the allocation the company places toward housing. A travel company is compensated a certain dollar amount for your services over your contract. Some companies will pay a higher wage (or allocate more money to that aspect of your contract) and some will be better at spreading out the allocation to give you a decent wage, decent benefits, AND nice housing. NO one company out there will have the highest wage, the nicest housing, and the best health benefits (if there were such a company that would be the only company, as everyone would travel with them).

Sometimes it may take some trial and error to figure out how well your company will do in housing you. The first indicator of a company that may be “sub-par” in this aspect will be a company that does not have a department dedicated to housing; however, many of these companies don’t even offer to house you, they simply quote you a stipend and you are responsible for finding your own housing.

This is something I discourage on a first assignment. Now you will have many a seasoned traveler tell you all the riches that await you when you arrange your own housing, but I also guarantee that once any of them run into a housing “issue” while on assignment, they will likely reassess their position.

A travel company that is arranging your housing should find you a safe, one-bedroom apartment, pay the costs to secure that apartment, and hold that lease should you decide to extend your contract. I’m not saying this cannot all be done by a travel nurse, but it does often involve some risk as your assignment could be extended, or canceled, and if your leaseholder will not let you out of a contract, or had already leased to someone else (because they didn’t know you were staying past your current lease), it could pose some pretty stressful issues in the middle of your assignment.

Again, if it is something you want to do, feel free…just NOT on your first assignment.

I expect to be housed in a one-bedroom apartment, in a safe complex that includes amenities like a pool/hot tub, clubhouse with workout facilities, and an array of other amenities which could include tennis courts, bike/jogging trails, basketball courts, racquetball courts, and I even stayed at a complex in FL that had hoses and two spots available for the residents to wash their cars.

In asking your recruiter, or a housing coordinator, about the housing that a company typically offers, if you ever hear the words, “extended stay”, you may want to consider another company. Extended stay hotels or suites are basically a room that has a kitchen. While you will have things like dishes, cookware, and linens provided, it never really comes close to the feeling of having a nice one bedroom apartment (and it is likely a cheap allocation for the travel company).

For me, when I am on the road for three to twelve months at a time, housing is the most important aspect of my contract. After I know where I am headed, my first call is to the housing department to see where they normally house travelers for that location. Sometimes, you may even be able to choose one complex over another, but availability plays a large part. However, once you know which complex they may use, you can then look up that complex online and check out the amenities and even the surrounding neighborhood. If there are issues with housing, you will want to bring them up with your recruiter before your company secures something (when things will be easier to correct or adjust).

Also always let your housing coordinator know if you have any special needs. Pets are a common one, but I always preferred to be in a top floor apartment rather than have someone living above me. This also would allow me to keep windows open at night without much of a safety worry. So any special requests or needs should be made known as soon as possible.

Those are pretty much the basics when it comes to getting quality housing, and again, it may take some questioning and digging to find out exactly how much your travel company allocates toward finding you a great place.

As always, if you need any help finding some great companies that allocate more toward housing, please feel free to email me at david@travelnursesbible.com

I hope this helps.

David

david@travelnursesbible.com

Settle in and click through our list of 33 Holiday Movies Travel Nurses Will Love.

Throughout much of the country, the cold of winter calls for bountiful blankets and copious covers, which tend to go great with movie marathons! And, during this festive time of year, what better fare to snuggle up with than a Holiday flick? Even if it’s still 70° and sunny in your location, here are 33 Holiday movies Travel Nurses will love (in no particular order):

1. A Christmas Story — Considered the ultimate modern classic by many, this 1983 comedy brought leg lamps, bunny suits, and the term “You’ll shoot your eye out!” into fashion.

Behold! Ralphie and co. light up this Christmas favorite.

2. The Muppet Christmas Carol — Everybody’s favorite motley crew, The Muppets, take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas — Tim Burton’s musical fantasy takes viewers from “Halloween Town” to “Christmas Town.”

4. Eight Crazy Nights — Although it’s an animated feature, Adam Sandler’s musical comedy focusing on the Hanukkah season is an adults-only affair.

5. Bad Santa — Also meant for adults, Billy Bob Thornton stars as an alcoholic, thieving Santa, in this comedy caper.

6. Elf — Will Ferrell charms as one of Santa’s elves who travels to New York City to meet his biological father, delivering childlike Christmas cheer everywhere he goes.

7. Mixed Nuts — Hilarity and hijinks ensue in this Nora Ephron-directed screwball comedy set in and around a crisis hotline at Christmastime. Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, Rob Reiner, Rita Wilson, Juliette Lewis, Anthony LaPaglia, Jon Stewart, Parker Posey, and others star.

8. Gremlins — A cautionary tale for those looking for unusual Christmas gifts, this classic ’80s monster mash is set against a Holiday backdrop.

You definitely don’t want to feed these carolers after midnight!

9. A Charlie Brown Christmas — One of the season’s most beloved traditions, for kids of all ages.

10. The Polar Express — Take a trip to the North Pole, as seen through a child’s eyes, in this computer-animated fantasy.

11. Home for the Holidays — Technically a Thanksgiving movie, but this comedy, directed by Jodie Foster and starring Holly Hunter, is a great examination of family festivities.

12. The Black Candle — This award-winning documentary on Kwanzaa is narrated by the late Maya Angelou.

Oh, Cousin Eddie!

13. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation — Chevy Chase and family are back and in the spirit of the season in this third installment of National Lampoon’s Vacation series — a major crowd favorite.

14. One Magic Christmas — An angel (played by Harry Dean Stanton) helps show a hardworking, downtrodden mom the true meaning of Christmas in this ’80s classic.

15. Home Alone — When Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind by his family who are traveling to Europe, he must protect their home from a pair of bungling burglars.

16. Die Hard — A Christmas party turns nightmarish for an NYPD officer (Bruce Willis) when he must save his wife and other hostages being threatened by a terrorist group.

17. Love, Actually — A mosaic of stories come together in this across-the-pond rom-com, starring a huge ensemble cast including Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, and others.

18. The Hebrew Hammer — According to IMDb, “An orthodox Jewish blaxploitation hero saves Hanukkah from the clutches of Santa Claus’ evil son.” Starring Adam Goldberg, Andy Dick, and Judy Greer.

19. Little Fockers — Christmas and Hanukkah factor into this third installment of the comic Meet the Parents series, starring Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Blythe Danner, Barbra Streisand, and Owen Wilson.

20. How the Grinch Stole Christmas — Whether you prefer the animated classic or the 2000 Jim Carrey version, this holiday classic will make your heart grow three sizes.

It really is a wonderful life!

21. It’s a Wonderful Life — James Stewart stars as George Bailey, a man in despair who gets help from an angel to realize his life is meaningful and necessary. Widely loved and watched, this film is one of the American Film Institute’s 100 best films ever made.

22. While You Were Sleeping — Christmastime in Chicago is the backdrop for this family-centric rom-com starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, and Peter Gallagher.

23. This Christmas — Starring Idris Elba, Regina King, and Loretta Devine, this Christmas comedy/drama details a family’s first holiday together in four years.

24. Trading Places — Christmas and New Year’s are important characters in this scathingly funny John Landis film, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd.

25. Holiday Inn — Starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, the classic Holiday tune ‘White Christmas” was written for this film.

26. White Christmas — Another classic featuring music by Irving Berlin. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen.

27. Black Christmas — On the other end of the spectrum, whether the original 1974 or the 2006 remake, this Holiday slasher flick centers on sorority sisters being stalked by a killer during a winter storm.

Gotcha!

28. Scrooged — Bill Murray is wonderfully persnickety in this modern spin on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This ’80s Christmas comedy classic also stars Karen Allen, Carol Kane, and Bobcat Goldthwait.

29. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer — This stop motion animation classic tells the story of everyone’s favorite misfit reindeer and his friend Hermey who set out to find a place where they’ll be accepted just as they are. It first aired in 1964, but never gets old!

30. Meet Me in St. Louis — Sure, this classic spans an entire year, but it’s best known for its Christmas scenes, especially Judy Garland’s Esther singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to her sorrowful kid sister, Tootie.

Happy New Year’s, from 1981.

31. 200 Cigarettes — With a ’90s ensemble cast boasting Ben Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Janeane Garofalo, Christina Ricci, Paul Rudd, Courtney Love, Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Martha Plimpton, and others, this flick follows multiple characters throughout New Year’s Eve 1981.

32. Four Rooms — Set in a hotel on New Year’s Eve, Tim Roth plays a bellhop who appears in all four segments of this bizarre anthology comedy.

33. When Harry Met Sally — This textbook rom-com spans the seasons, but its capstone New Year’s Eve scene is rightfully famous. (See also, Sleepless in Seattle, with Meg Ryan’s vehicular singing of “Jingle Bells” — “horses, horses, horses, horses … ” for another festive scene.)

Did we leave your favorite off the list of 33 Holiday movies Travel Nurses will love? Let us know in the comments which movie(s) you’d add to the list, and, be sure to check out this blog with tips on other festive ways to make your location home for the holidays.